Feng Zhi Wei sat on the ground and stared at the figure blankly, her body began to tremble. 

In the misty vapor, she muttered, “Mother…have you come…”

The shadowy figure three feet away, was gazing at her with gentle and trembling eyes. 

Feng Zhi Wei suddenly got up slowly while holding onto the cave wall. Her gaze was glued to the shadowy figure, her face full of pain and confusion as she said softly, “…Mother…you are finally here…I have so much, so much I want to tell you…why…why did you…”

The figure wrapped in a blanket of fog was looking back at her with sadness and compassion. 

“…why did you sell me to the playhouse!” 

Changed from her previous air of confusion and sadness, Feng Zhi Wei’s scream was sharp and piercing, so fierce it tore apart the cave’s silence and stagnation. She threw herself forward violently, crashing into the arms of the figure with cannonball-like grief and anger!

Seeing Feng Zhi Wei’s confusion and grief, the shadowy figure had thought they were about to have a reunion filled with teary confessions. In the past, under the influence of the surroundings and the special incense that controls people’s emotions, people would tell her all about themselves going back eighteen generations. Who would’ve thought that this Madam Huang, was indeed confounded, and controlled, but that control would produce a cannon-like result! 

“Why did you sell me to the playhouse!” Feng Zhi Wei pinched the figure’s arms hard, her hand fast and sure, leaving one bloody mark after another. 

“You sent my brother to school with the dowry grandma left me then sold me— is there such a cruel mother in this world as you?” Feng Zhi Wei hit her head against the figure’s chest, again and again, focusing on a certain soft spot. 

“My no-good dad beat me every day when he’s dunk. You never stopped him once but were only focused on protecting my younger brother!” Feng Zhi Wei raised her hand to tear at the figure’s hair, the person desperately dodged from side to side. 

“When I was thirteen, I fell in love with Li family’s son. His family was willing to have me marry him but you thought his family was too poor and said that there would be more money if I learned opera. You forcefully broke us up and sent me into that fire pit. I was beaten every day. If I even sang one word wrong then I would have to kneel on a pile of stones in the snow and not eat for three days. Li family’s son later died of fever. I didn’t even get to see him one last time. When I ran back in the snowstorm, all I saw was a grave– ” Feng Zhi Wei grabbed her and shook her wildly, causing the person to stagger around, “Say it! Say it! You have the nerve to come see me?” 

The person was being shaken like a torn sack in her hand, wanting to resist but not daring to. The more Feng Zhi Wei talked, the more furious she got until she tilted her head to bite the person’s ear. 

“Madam, don’t!” Someone suddenly shouted loudly from behind. Seemingly not hearing the voice, Feng Zhi Wei was still aiming ferociously for the ear. Feng Zhi Wei’s waist was suddenly grabbed from behind, and a strong force dragged her backward. She didn’t look back but waved wildly to hit the person behind her even while she kicked all her might at the fake mother who had been beaten up rather badly by her, “I’ll kick you to death! I’ll kick you to death! I’ll kick you to death!” 

The one who dragged her backward is none other than the sedan carrier who went to “get clothes.” Showing up rather at the perfect moment, one man held her off while the other man quickly pushed the muddy person off to the side. 

There was a cold sneer deep within Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes. 

The sedan carrier who was holding her gave a quick snap by the side of her ear. A cool fragrance blew past, Feng Zhi Wei’s kicking movement stopped abruptly. 

She looked up in confusion, and thought for a moment, seemingly a bit puzzled about where she was and what she was doing just now. She then looked down and discovered the carrier’s hand on her waist. Furious, she turned around and gave the man a resounding slap on the face and said, “You reprobate! You dare to touch me!” 

The sedan carrier had just given her the antidote to the hallucinogenic drug and was stunned to be slapped suddenly. Not daring to fight back, he silently moaned inside why he had to meet such a lioness today. 

But even though she was a lioness, this Madam Huang did not show any flaws. The rule of the villa was that everyone who passed the magic cave test was a guest. Since she is a guest, then they can’t be rude so even with Feng Zhi Wei beating up the fake mom, and slapping him, all they can do is accept it. 

“This is how Shuyu Villa treats guests?” Feng Zhi Wei put her hands on her hips and said angrily, “First, scare me to death! Then anger me to death! And my clothes–” She shook her dress dripping with mud, “How am I supposed to show myself in front of people?”

The carrier looked with a wry smile, thinking inwardly that you are indeed the number one shrew of the world. Things had gone unexpectedly here before but no one had ever just jumped in and started to beat people up. 

“Madam, you can change clothes later when you exit the cave.” The sedan carrier bowed humbly, “There is a hot spring in the villa, which can nourish skin and strengthen energy. Madam, you might as well try it.” 

“Well, that’s more like it.” Feng Zhi Wei let out a small snort, turned her head, and said “Huh? Where is the ghost shadow I saw just now?”

“There was no ghost shadow, Madam must have been mistaken.” The sedan carrier was still smiling but there was a hint of warning in his voice, “This is Shuyu Villa. It is a property belonging to Second Prince, the most famous garden of the Imperial Capital. There naturally won’t be anything unclean.” 

Feng Zhi Wei snorted again, glanced over at him, and fell silent. The two carriers exchanged a glance, thinking inwardly that although this woman is a shrew, she is not a complete idiot. 

“Let’s go, we have delayed enough.” Feng Zhi Wei straightened her hair, “Where is my husband? Take me to him. This cave is so dark and scary, I want to go with him.” 

“This…” An expression of unease appeared on the two carriers’ faces. 

Feng Zhi Wei suddenly tilted her head. 

“Hey, what’s that sound?” 

===============================

“Good man…today, are you going to…give all to me?”

Seductive muttering by his ear, soft supple body in his arms, unexpected reunion with an old friend bringing back memories of glorious youth, what man, no matter how foolishly righteous the man is, his heart is certain to melt into a puddle under those slender fingers. 

Official Huang gradually lost his voice. In the darkness, there was low breathing and sounds of friction of clothes mixed with the woman’s low laugh. The laughter was crisp and a little proud. If you listened carefully, there was a hint of coldness in that triumph-filled laugh. 

“Oh…good man…” 

The light has somehow been completely dimmed, with a lone faint yellow light on the top of the cave, blinking like a mysterious eye. 

If one looked carefully, the yellow light wasn’t a light, but a hole with light slowly shining through. The light is a secret room above the entire cave. 

In the secret room, someone could see clearly what was happening in all directions through the reflection mirror installed above the hole. A man let out a soft chuckle as he pointed in Ning Yi’s direction, “That’s one sexy show. Too bad the lights have to be out so we can’t see it.” The man added “That Xiao Mei is sure seductive to the bone. Flesh Pillow Seat’s reputation is certainly well deserved.” (The Flesh Pillow Seat is sort of a straight translation from Chinese. It’s actually a book written in the Qing Dynasty that has been banned quite a few times. The name came from the main character’s conversation with a monk. The monk remarked that the man is a good fit to be a monk if not for his carnal desires. The man then replies that instead of sitting on the monks’ round pillow seat they sit on for meditation, he would rather sit on pillows of flesh (meaning women). The story then goes from bad to worse from that point on judging by what I read on wikipedia. In short, the man goes on to cheat on his wife with several married women. One of the husbands finds out and devises a revenge of his own and is able to convince the main character’s wife to elope with him. To complete the revenge, the man sold the wife into a brothel. The wife later committed suicide out of shame when her husband- the main character, came to the brothel to check out the famous new concubine. The story ends with both the main character, and the cheated-on husband realizing they were wrong, and both of them becoming monks under the same master monk. Seriously, talk about a story that desperately needs our heroine Feng Zhi Wei to go teach them a lesson.) 

In the secret room, a woman in a black robe who had been lazily picking her neil raised her eyebrows upon hearing the man’s words, “Chief Steward, have you forgotten the rules?”

“My mistake.” The man who had spoken before, the Chief Steward of Shuyu Villa apologized with a smile, “I had forgotten the girls’ taboos.”

“Since everyone is working together, we should more or less respect each other’s rules.” The woman took out an eyebrow pencil and a small mirror, tracing over her eyebrow carefully, “Otherwise, if our master is displeased, no one would fare well.” 

“Yes.” The Chief Steward bowed, his posture humble but a hint of derision was on his lowered face. 

Just a group of easy women! Listen to that name- “Flesh Pillow Seat”! Even if they are trained spies, specializing in reconnaissance, they are still women of shame. Who knows what His Highness is thinking that he had admonished them to be extra careful at not offending them.

And that master of theirs. Who knows who that is? These brothel girls mention him in every other word like he is some sort of god, but he has never even shown himself once. 

“It looks like the subject has fallen into the trap.” The Chief Steward, “Or is there still some sort of issue with this Official Huang? Should we send someone down to take care of it?”

“Wait for Xiao Mei’s signal.” The woman leans her head forward to glance down. 

The two were in the middle of discussing when they suddenly heard a cry of alarm from Xiao Mei coming out of the hole!

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

ps. I noticed that The Rise of Phoenixes is now on Youtube.

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